PASSIONATE young dairy enthusiasts got the inside scoop on preparing their heifers for show competitions at the National Dairy Youth Camp recently.
Event organiser and industry trainer for GOTAFE and the National Centre of Dairy Education Australia (NCDEA), Beate Barnes said the camp held at the Melbourne Showgrounds provided participants aged between 16 and 20 years with the knowledge and skills to care for their heifer in the led up to exhibition days.
"The camp was attended by 38 participants who were given a heifer to care for the entire week, this practical, hands-on learning enabled the students to directly apply their learnings to get their heifer looking its best at show competitions," said Mrs Barnes.
"The participants spent five busy days attending demonstrations, workshops and presentations learning all that there is to know about preparing their animal for exhibition day including daily watering, feeding, washing, leading and monitoring.
"Participants also learnt judging, showing and clipping skills and took part in team activities and also peer judging of each other's showmanship."
On the final day an awards presentation acknowledged outstanding students in nine categories including champion experience clipper taken out by Sarah Nesbitt from, Cooma, NSW, future industry leader awarded to Courtney Afford and overall winner Luke Gilbert from New Zealand who received a $2000 Genetics Australia (GA) Scholarship.
Mrs Barnes went on to say the event has had a long history of supporting dairy enthusiasts and said that the event would not be possible without the support of the industry and its sponsors.
"This event has been running for more than 20 years and its success relies on the support and collaboration we receive from our sponsors and industry organisations," she said.
"In 2015 we specifically want to thank Dairy Australia our major sponsor, their support in conjunction with the industry's backing make it possible to hold an event of this calibre, an event that is specifically designed to support young and enthusiastic dairy leaders."
The camp also provided the perfect preparation for International Dairy Week - held from Sunday January 18 to Thursday January 22.
The National All Dairy Breeds Youth Camp is a program aimed at post-secondary participants and is open to participants between 16 and 20 years of age.
